Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 3 (November 19, 2009)

Focus: Since there are no new students in class, work on the back leg in standings, Sarvangasana variations, and applying yamas to practice.

Note new poses for this week are in bold face.

Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra II.30-39 — The Yamas
What is Ethical Yoga Practice? [Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 3 (November 17, 2009) for details]

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Upavistha Konasana

2. Baddha Konasana

3. Forward Extensions
a. Dandasana

b. Padangustha Dandasana

4. Tadasana/Samasthiti

5. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)

6. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)

7. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Extend the biceps to open the armpits. Extend the radial wrist, thumbs away from the inner elbows, to extend the biceps more.

8. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Skipped for time and emphasis.

9. Utthita Hasta Padasana
a. Outer left heel down. Left inner thigh towards outer thigh to spread the legs.

10. Parsva Hasta Padasana
a. Keep the outer left heel down and left inner thigh towards the bone to make turning the right leg out very light.

11. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Take the hand down only as far as the chest remains open.

b. Paschima Baddha Hasta arms to prevent shoulder pain.

12. Virabhadrasana II
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.

13. Utthita Parsvakonasana

14. Vrksasana
a. Like hands in namaskar: Press right sole into left inner thigh. Entire outer right leg presses into right foot.

b. Open from the inner right groin towards the inner right knee.

15. Virabhadrasana I
a. Turning the trunk, do not bend the left knee. Do not allow the knee to go with the motion. Using the intelligence, “fill up” the inner back knee to straighten it, then turn the inner calf out. Then strongly, rajasically, lifting the front and back thigh, pull up the entire thigh into the hip socket. Connect it so that, with only sattvic intelligence, you can easily lift the pelvis. This makes a heavy, tamasic, pose lighter, more sattvic. Then the mind becomes more sattvic.

16. Utkatasana
a. Turn the outer arms in to lift the pubic plate. Lift up the biceps to open the armpits.

17. Parsvottanasana
a. Extended phase: head on chair seat

18. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Concave back: Hands on bricks.

b. Extended phase: Head down on a brick.

19. Baddha Hasta Uttanasana
a. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee, to make the knee light.

20. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana

b. Ekapada Sarvangasana

c. Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana

d. Halasana

21. Savasana

Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 3 (November 17, 2009)

Focus: Opening the armpits in standings, and applying yamas to practice.

Note new poses for this week are in bold face.

Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra II.30-39 — The Yamas
What is Ethical Yoga Practice?
The five yamas are the ethical precepts of yoga. By listing them as the first limb of astanga yoga, they assume “pride of place” as the very foundation of spiritual illumination (samadhi). Even though yoga has been appropriated through the ages to accomplish the needs of various religions and cultures, yoga stands on its own. These “mighty vows” are the basis for yoga’s universal appeal.

PYS II.30 Ahimsa - satya - asteya - brahmacarya - aparigrahah - yamah
Non-violence - truth - non stealing - continence - non possessiveness (non greediness) (are the self) restraints.

PYS II.31 (Yamas are the) universal vows unconditioned by class, place (or) time.

Patanjali earlier stated that the intelligence exists solely to serve as the agent of the soul, to free the citta from spiritual ignorance [PYS II.21]. Thus, BKS Iyengar characterizes yoga as a spiritual practice that takes its direction from the soul:

“Spirituality is... the inner passion and urge for Self-realization and the need to find the ultimate purpose of our existence.... If the principles of yama are not followed, we deliberately act as murderers of the soul. As beginners we may try to control only our bad habits. But, as time progresses, the dictates of yama become impulses of the heart.”
[B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life, Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2005. p. 251]

“Ethical living... develops a feeling of oneness between man and nature, between man and man, and between man and his Maker, thus permitting the experience of a feeling of identity with the spirit that pervades all creation.... To draw closer to one’s soul is also to live more and more by the dictates of one’s conscience.”
[B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life, Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2005. p. 249]

The purpose of existence, how the intelligence serves the soul, and the soul residing in the spiritual heart are all topics covered in the Monday 4.30p Intro — Week 8 (April 20, 2009) Intro Class.

Patanjali’s next two sutras convey how the yoga practitioner must put these ethical precepts into practice, and what happens if he doesn’t do so:

PYS II.33 Vitarka - badhane pratipaksha - bhavanam
The principles which are against yama and niyama are to be counteracted with the knowledge of discrimination (or right knowledge and awareness).

PYS II.34 Uncertain knowledge (vitarka) giving rise to violence... is caused by greed, anger and delusion.... It result in endless pain (duhkha) and ignorance (ajnana).

BKS Iyengar explains pratipaksha - bhavanam, literally “cultivating the opposite,” and how to apply yama to asana:

“If you are acting over-aggressively in one side of your body, you are murdering (himsa) the cells on that side. By restoring energy to the weaker, passive side, you are learning to balance violence and non-violence. When the shape of the asana expresses the shape of the self, without forcing, deception, or distortion, then you have learned the truth (satya) in asana.... When a practitioner feels in asana that his intelligence is flooding his whole body throughout the sheaths, he experiences a self-contained wholeness, an integrity of being. He feels himself rise above outer attachments. That is the quality of celibacy [brahmacarya ] in action.”
[B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life, Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2005. p. 56

“[Ahimsa means] not to harm: you should not be violent, but be supple.”
[B.K.S. Iyengar, Sparks of Divinity, Noelle Perez-Christiaens [ed.], Institut de Yoga B.K.S. Iyengar, Paris, 1976. P.79]

“When there is strain, it is physical yoga. When the brain is passive, it is spiritual yoga.”
[B.K.S. Iyengar, Sparks of Divinity, Noelle Perez-Christiaens [ed.], Institut de Yoga B.K.S. Iyengar, Paris, 1976. P.298

“Ethics come from inside ourselves [but] ...get distorted by contact with society. This disturbs the consciousness (citta) as well as the conscience (antahkarana).... Yoga trains us away from our selfish, brutal motives and shows us how to complete our responsibilities.”
[B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life, Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2005. p. 250]

As a burgeoning awareness arises through the process of self-study, the yoga practitioner becomes aware that involvement with worldly objects involves endless trouble — such as gaining, guarding, losing, and consequent grief. Detachment from desires [vairagya — PYS I.15] allows those objects of enjoyment to exist without distracting the mind.

The results of yoga practice are then described in the next five sutras:

PYS II.35 (When one is) firmly established in ahimsa (non violence, there is) abandonment of hostility (in) one’s presence.

PYS II.36 (When one is) firmly established in satya (truthfulness), (his speech accords with reality and, therefore,) his words are realized (come to fruition or become true: phala).

PYS II.37 (When one is) firmly established in asteya (non stealing), all precious jewels come (to him — not the least of which is virtue—BKS).

PYS II.38 (When one is) firmly established in brahmacarya (continence), vigor (valor, knowledge and energy—BKS) flows to him.

PYS II.39 (When one is) steady in aparigrahah (lack of greed for possessions), knowledge of past and future lives unfolds (and one realizes the true meaning of life: “what I am” and “what I am meant for”—BKS).


Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Arms down, triceps strong to descend the shoulders.

2. Tadasana (Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms)

3. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)

4. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)

5. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Extend the biceps to open the armpits. Extend the radial wrist, thumbs away from the inner elbows, to extend the biceps more.

6. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Skipped for time and emphasis.

7. Utthita Hasta Padasana
a. Outer left heel down. Left inner thigh towards outer thigh to spread the legs.

8. Parsva Hasta Padasana
a. Keep the outer left heel down and left inner thigh towards the bone to make turning the right leg out very light.

b. When turning, do not lose the opening of the sternum towards the shoulders.

9. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Take the hand down only as far as the chest remains open.

b. Paschima Baddha Hasta arms to prevent shoulder pain.

10. Virabhadrasana II
a. Keep the outer left heel down and left inner thigh towards the bone to keep the trunk in the middle.

11. Utthita Parsvakonasana

12. Vrksasana
a. Like hands in namaskar: Right knee at wall to press right sole into left inner thigh. Entire outer right leg presses into right foot.

b. Open from the inner right groin towards the inner right knee.

13. Virabhadrasana I
a. Inadvertently omitted.

14. Utkatasana
a. Turn the outer arms in to lift the pubic plate. Lift up the biceps to open the armpits.

15. Parsvottanasana
a. Concave back: hands on chair seat

b. Extended phase: head on chair seat

16. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Concave back: Hands on bricks.

b. Extended phase: Head down on a brick.

17. Baddha Hasta Uttanasana
a. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee, to make the knee light.

b. Inadvertently omitted.

18. Forward Extensions
a. Dandasana

b. Padangustha Dandasana

19. Chair Sarvangasana

20. Savasana

Tuesday 4.30p MS — Week 3 (November 17, 2009)

Focus: Restorative for fatigue.

Note new poses for this week are in bold face.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Chair Pavanmuktasana
a. Feet on blanket to warm up hands.

2. Chair Bharadvajasana

3. Bolster Setubandha Sarvangasana (calves on chair seat)
a. Align the knee pit at the front edge of the chair seat to support the entire lower leg. To open chest, front edge of the bolster should be just below the shoulder blades, at the bra strap.

b. If back arch causes pain, lay over to staggered blankets folded in half lengthwise.

4. Viparita Karani

5. Supta Baddha Konasana
a. Knees on a second bolster. (LM)

Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 3 (October 1, 2009)

New student in class
Focus: “Bodification” of the breath” taught by Geeta and Prashant Iyengar in Pune July, 2009.

Discussion: annamaya kosha becomes pranamaya kosha

Note new poses for this week are in bold face.


1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Soft, slow, smooth inhalation. Soft, slow, smooth exhalation. The energy, prana, that you generate through the inhalation and the exhalation should reach even the remote areas of the body. Sit erect to create space, height, width, and depth to drench every area of the body with the breath.

b. From the inner cellular body, you have to keep yourself open because the cells are receptacles that receive that energy.

So let that annamaya kosha [physical sheath] of the body become completely a pranamaya kosha [energetic sheath], as though every cell of the body is receiving that energy.

If the nerve fibers fluctuate anywhere, or get inflated, the energy will get sucked up by those nerve cells. Don’t deflate them, as though the air is taken out from those areas, [else the prana will leak from them].

c. Quietly and silently, lift from the outer body, as the subtle body settles deeper into the core, the inner sheath, where it can remain restful.
[Geeta Iyengar — Pune July, 2009]

d. For sciatica and mid-back pain during pregnancy, sit on four evenly-stacked blankets, with part of the thigh on the blanket. Don’t let the baby sink into the right side of the pelvis.(NB)

2. a. “Stretching” the back thighs connotes an aggressive mechanical action whereas “opening” has a less forceful feel. We hold the breath when “stretching” but tend to breathe normally when “opening.”

3. Upavistha Konasana

4. Parsva Upavistha Konasana

5. Baddha Konasana
a. Reinforce the spine by lifting the inner buttock bones and pelvic floor.
b. On stacked blankets, substitute for Upavistha Konasana, for sciatica and mid-back pain during pregnancy. (NB)

6. Ujjayi I in Supported Supta Baddha Konasana
a. Breath awareness
b. Belt each leg independently to make space in the groins and abdomen. (NB)

7. Ujjayi III in Supported Supta Baddha Konasana
a. Slightly longer exhalation towards the infinite vastness within.
b. “If you only labor with your body, you will be weaned away from the culture of yoga. So become breath aware.”
c. “The breath should become muscle, skin, bones, tissue, cells, fibers through the “bodification” of the breath.”
[Prashant Iyengar: Pune July, 2009]

8. Viparita Karani

9. Ardha Parsvottanasana (hands on wall, upright)
a. Prior to class, left heel up on brick for sciatica during pregnancy, especially after driving. (NB).

Tuesday 4.30p MS — Week 3 (September 15, 2009)

Focus: Shoulder and upper back to relieve neck strain and open the chest.

Note new poses for this week are in bold face.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Urdhva Hastasana in Swastikasana
a. Hold the upper wall ropes while sitting on a bolster in Swastikasana to lift collar bones and open armpit chest.

2. Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana in Chair Tadasana (2X)
a. Sitting erect in a chair, same actions as if standing in Tadasana.

3. Gomukhasana arms in Chair Tadasana (3X)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Sitting erect in a chair, take the right arm up, bend the right elbow. Hold the right elbow with the left hand and bring the elbow behind the head. Open the armpit.

4. Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana in Chair Tadasana
a. Repeat to feel the effect of Gomukhasana.

5. Rope Shoulder Harness in Chair Tadasana
a. Assisted to take the trapezius down, lift the chest, and free the neck.

6. Back Arch in Chair Tadasana
a. With chair back just below shoulder blades, Assistant helps Student back arch to open chest. Hold the back rung of the chair.

7. Virabhadrasana II
a. Omitted for time. Do next time.

8. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Omitted for time. Do next time.

9. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Omitted for time. Do next time.

10. Parsvottanasana (hands on wall ledge) 2X
a. Push on wall ledge to take right hip back. Lift from back of the right knee up to the buttock bone and then lift the kneecap with the quadriceps.
b. Right hip back, left hip forward.
c. Outer hips in.

11. Chair Pavanmuktasana
a. Sitting in a chair with legs spread, bend forward. Rest the chest on a bolster stacked on chair seat number two.

12. Supta Baddha Konasana
a. Knees on a second bolster if hips are stiff.

13. Viparita Karani (15 min)
a. Omitted for time.

Tuesday 4.30p MS — Week 3 (May 19, 2009)

Focus: How to lift the legs in standings.
One new student.

New poses in bold face.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Utthita Trikonasana (2X each side)
a. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina
b. Lift the knee cap in front and the hamstrings in back to straighten the knee.

2. Tadasana (brick between the thighs)

3. Utthita Parsvakonasana (2X each side)

4. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat, head on brick on chair seat)
a. Inserted as resting pose.

5. Adho Mukha Swastikasana (forehead on chair seat)
a. Upavistha Konasana (forehead on chair seat) if unable to bend knees. (MF)
b. Inserted as resting pose.

6. Virabhadrasana I
a. Press wrists into Upper Wall Rope to lift pubis and open chest.
b. Use the intelligence to “fill up” the inner back knee to straighten it, then turn the inner calf out. Then strongly, rajasically, lifting the front and back thigh, pull up the entire thigh into the hip socket. Connect it so that, with only sattvic intelligence, you can easily lift the pelvis. Take the buttock flesh down.

7. Chair Pavanmuktasana
a. Sitting in a chair with legs spread, bend forward. Rest the head on a brick.

8. Viparita Karani

Friday 6:00a Asana 1: Week 3 (March 20, 2009)

NOTE: This is an Asana 1 class and not for beginners. All students have been attending classes at Yoga St. Louis for at least one year.

4 students. One menstruating, she did all but Chair Sarvangasana, substituting with Supta Baddha Konasana.

Focus on how to make the brain rest or remain stable, unstressed while the body is active; effortless effort (please see Bruce's Thursday Intro, 6:30p Week 3 March 19th post).

1. Adho Mukha Svanasana
2x;
1st: @ wall;
2nd: away from wall, independent;

2. Parsvottanasana
2x;
1st: heel on blocks @ wall; walk hands down wall to bricks;
2nd: head on chair seat; compare 1st & 2nd;

3. Setubandha Sarvangasana
10 min.
Over lengthwise bolster, legs on chair;

4. Preparation for Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (arms)
Sit on block + blanket(s) facing away from chair seat;
Folded sticky mat on edge of chair seat to stick just below shoulder blades;
Hands hold back edge of chair seat, elbows close to turn upper arms in;
Blanket under back of head for support;

5. Chair Salamba Sarvangasana
Hook elbows around front legs of the chair to open chest;

6. Savasana

Wednesday 6:30p Intro: Week 3 (Jan 21, 2009)

3 students

1.) Tadasana / Samasthiti
Tada = mountain, asana = posture
Sama = same, sthiti = stable

— Foam brick at inner knee to awaken thighs & learn lift;

2.) Urdhva Baddhanguilyasana
Urdhva = upward, Baddha = bound, Guily = fingers

3.) Utthita Trikonasana (2x)
Utthita = extended, Tri = three, Kona = angle

4.) Virabhadrasana 2 (2x)
Virabhadra = warrior

— First time done by itself; second time move into…

5.) Utthita Parsvakonasana (2x)
Utthita = extended, Parsva = side, Kona = angle

6.) Virabhadrasana 2

Move into…

7.) Utthita Parsvakonasana

8.) Virabhadrasana 1 (2x)

— First time, practice turning feet & trunk, hands on hips;

— Second time, arms up;

9.) Vrksasana
Vrksa = tree

— Near wall, stand firm on Tadasana leg; arms up as in Virabhadrasana 1;

10.) Parsvottanasana (2x)
Parsva = side, Uttan = extended

— Front heel up on two bricks: one on wide flat side, short end 2 – 3 inches from wall; the other propped at an angle on edge of long side;

— Bring both hips parallel to wall; front leg: draw hip away from wall, stretch back and side of leg; back leg: hip draws towards wall & calf stretches; lift both knees;

— First time, hands on wall & lift chest;

— Second time, hands move down wall towards bricks;

11.) Uttanasana
Uttan = extended

— Arms in Baddha Hastasana (Baddha = bound, Hasta = hands/arms; holding the elbows near the crown of the head);

12.) Ardha Halasana
Ardha = half, Hala = plough

— Swing up from the floor to place feet on folding chair; 4 blankets under shoulders, head on the floor, elbows belted behind back, place hands on upper back;

— Toe tips on chair seat, keep knees straight, inner knees moving up towards ceiling; press upper arms down into blankets to lift the chest;

Move into…

13.) Eka Pada Sarvangasana
Eka = one, Pada = foot, Sarvanga = entire body

— Keep toes of one foot on chair seat, extend other leg upwards 90 degrees, both knees straight;

— Alternate legs; then extend both legs up into…

14.) Salamba Sarvangasana
Salamba = supported

— Full shoulder stand, press upper arms into blankets; extend tailbone up towards heels, legs in Tadasana;

— Return to…

15.) Ardha Halasana

16.) Setubandha Sarvangasana
Setu = bridge, Bandha = formation

— Roll out of Ardha Halasana, slide upper body off blanket stack, keep buttocks and thighs on; tuck shoulders under to keep chest open; close eyes and rest;

14.) Savasana
Sava = corpse

— From Setubandha Sarvangasana, move further off blankets so entire back & buttocks are on floor, rest with legs on blankets.

Monday 9:30a Intro: Week 3 (Jan 19, 2009)

4 students – no new students;
1 menstruating, 1 w/ swollen L leg (5-6 weeks); 1 w/ R lower back pain & R frozen shoulder.

Before class discussion on the first two Yamas, Ahimsa (= non-violence / non-harming) & Satya (= truthfulness) and how they relate to yoga practice. Stressed was the importance of being fully aware and attentive in our practice as well as in our everyday lives despite all the worldly things that draw our attention away from our physical and mental selves. If we ignore our pains, whether mental or physical (or both) and/or mask them with drugs, alcohol, TV, work, etc. how are we to figure out how to alleviate them for good? I’m not saying that you should be in pain, but can you detach (Vairagya) long enough to study what is really going on and try to understand the true source of the pain? And if possible, find relief with your yoga practice.

1.) Tadasana / Samasthiti
Tada = mountain, Asana = posture
Sama = same, Sthiti = stable

2.) Urdhva Baddhanguilyasana
Urdhva = upward, Baddha = bound, Guily = fingers

3.) Utthita Trikonasana
Utthita = extended, Tri = three, Kona = angle

— Student stumbled coming out of pose; prompted the questions “why?” and “what part(s) stopped doing the job of supporting?”; student to repeat the pose to try to find out, work on lifting the thighs strongly to ground the feet;

— Abhyasa & Vairagya (practice and detachment) to study pain and/or difficulty, such as stumbling or falling out of a pose;

4.) Utthita Parsvakonasana
Utthita = extended, Parsva = side, Kona = angle

5.) Tadasana

— Brick at lower thigh/just above the knee to “wake up” inner leg & learn the lift;

6.) Utthita Trikonasana

Move into…

7.) Utthita Parsvakonasana

8.) Utkatasana
Utkata = mighty, powerful

— Sacrum & buttocks at the wall; use the wall to lift of pubic plate, keep pelvis level;

— Student with frozen shoulder keep arms down;

9.) Vimanasana
Vimana = flying machine

— Bend front knee slowly so attention stays at the back leg; back heel at wall to press & get extension; keep back leg in Tadasana, inner knee moving towards wall;

— Arms out to sides for balance; lift chest by lifting from pubis;

10.) Virabhadrasana 1 (2x)
Virabhadra = warrior

— 2 students with arms up; 2 with hands on hips (shoulder & menstruating)

11.) Uttanasana
Uttan = extended

— Hands on bricks; buttocks at wall for alignment; “glue” buttock bones to the backs of thighs & lift from pubis;

— Watch/study knees so that they lift (is there Satya/truthfulness? Are they really lifting?);

— Student w/ lower back pain did not do – instead do Adho Mukha Virasana (Adho = downward, Mukha = face, Vira = hero / child’s pose) over bolster support;

12.) Viparita Karani
Viparita = reverse; Karani = process

— Given to rest after work of standings; also for student with swollen L leg

— Student with back pain in seated Gomukasana (Go = cow, Mukha = face) to open hips; then supine belted traction with legs in Urdhva Prasarita Padasana, belt at upper thighs, KD pulling on belt & holding legs at 90 degrees to relieve compression at the lower back;

— Student on menstrual period in Savasana with knees over bolster;

13.) Savasana
Sava = corpse

Saturday 10:30a Intro: Week 3 (Jan 17, 2009)

13 students – one on her menstrual period.

1.) Tadasana / Samasthiti
Tada = mountain, asana = posture
Sama = same, sthiti = stable

— Foam brick at inner knee to awaken thighs & learn lift;

2.) Urdhva Hastasana
Urdhva = upward, Hasta = hand

— In brick Tadasana;

3.) Virabhadrasana 2 (2x)
Virabhadra = warrior

— In middle of room; second time into…

4.) Utthita Parsvakonasana (several times)
Utthita = extended, Parsva = side, Kona = angle

— Emphasize back leg action: lift inner knee where brick was in Tadasana; extend outer heel down;

— Take short ends of mats to wall for repeated work on Parsvakonasana with back heel at wall so students can get the lift of inner back knee;

— Work on lift of frontal hip of the bent leg, to “levelize” pelvic “bowl”; sit the top of the thigh down; buttock bone moves towards the back of the knee to sit;

5.) Rope Utkatasana
Utkata = mighty, powerful

— Hold ropes, straighten arms dropping bottom towards floor in a “seated” position to give traction stretch to side body and armpits; roll upper arms from outside in (external rotation) to spread at upper back;

6.) Utkatasana

— With sacrum at the wall; learn to keep pelvis level with lift of pubic plate;

7.) Parsvottanasana (2x)
Parsva = side, Uttan = extended

— Front heel up on two bricks: one on wide flat side, short end 2 – 3 inches from wall; the other propped at an angle on edge of long side;

— Bring both hips parallel to wall; front leg: draw hip away from wall, stretch back and side of leg; back leg: hip draws towards wall & calf stretches; lift both knees;

— First time, hands on wall & lift chest;

— Second time, hands move down wall towards bricks;

8.) Viparita Karani (10 min.)
Viparita = reverse; Karani = process

— “Legs up the wall” pose; buttocks & lower back supported with bolster; blanket under shoulders & another under head (optional);

— Menstruating student take Supta Baddha Konasana (Supta = supine, Baddha = bound, Kona = angle);

9.) Savasana (5 min.)
Sava = corpse

— Sliding off bolster from Viparita Karani, rest back chest & buttocks on floor; cross legs or extend straight; eyes closed.

Friday 6:00a Asana 1: Week 3 (Jan 16, 2009)

NOTE: This is an Asana 1 class and not for beginners. All students have been attending classes at Yoga St. Louis for at least one year.

Seven students attended class on Friday. One student was on her menstrual cycle (day 4). VERY cold today (below zero at 6a).

1.) Tadasana / Samasthiti
Tada = mountain, Asana = posture
Sama = same, Sthiti = stable

— Use brick to awaken legs; extend through arms to warm up;

2.) Urdhva Hastasana
Urdhva = upward, Hasta = hand

— Half the class sinking in the back ribs with thighs forward; cannot feel alignment (too cold/stiff/early?)

3.) Urdhva Baddhanguilyasana
Urdhva = upward, Baddha = bound, Guily = fingers

4.) Virabhadrasana 2 (3x)
Virabhadra = warrior

— First by itself, second and third times immediately preceding…

5.) Utthita Parsvakonasana (2x)
Utthita = extended, Parsva = side, Kona = angle

— Return to…

6.) Tadasana / Samasthiti

7.) Utthita Trikonasana
Utthita = extended, Tri = three, Kona = angle

— Move into…

8.) Utthita Parsvakonasana

— Move into…

9.) Ardha Chandrasana
Ardha = half, Chandra = moon

— Turn from hips, place both hands on the floor, step left leg back for…

10.) Parsvottanasana
Parsva = side, Uttan = extended

— “Walk” hands and feet towards long end of the mat, spread feet further apart, toes turned in to parallel outer edges of feet to short ends of mat for…

11.) Prasarita Padottanasana
Prasarita = wide spread, Pada = foot, Uttan = extended

— First, look forward with concave back; palms on the floor under shoulders; second, take crown of head down to floor or brick(s), folding from hips;

— To come out, look forward with arms straight, step or hop feet together and stand up (inhale!);

— Repeat asanas 7 through 11 on second side;

12.) Utkatasana (3x)
Utkata = mighty, powerful

— First time, feet together in middle of room; lift from pubic plate;

— Second, feet together with sacrum at wall; same lift but easier to control at wall;

— Third, feet apart with sacrum at wall;

13.) Rope Utkatasana

— Get length at side body, armpits, repeat/learn action of legs and pubic plate from Utkatasana at wall;

14.) Vimanasana
Vimana = flying machine

— Preliminary pose to teach extension of back leg, open frontal hip flexor; back inner heel presses into wall to stabilize balance;

15.) Virabhadrasana 1

— Capitalize on length gained at side body from rope Utkatasana and action of sacrum learned from Utkatasana at the wall;

16.) Vrksasana
Vrksa = tree

— Arms in Urdhva Hastasana; get same length as learned in rope Utkatasana and Virabhadrasana 1;

17.) Parsvottanasana

— Hands on bricks

18.) Halasana / Salamba Sarvangasana
Hala = plough / Salamba = supported, Sarvanga = entire body

19.) Setubandha Sarvangasana
Setu = bridge, Bandha = formation, Sarvanga = entire body

— Coming out from Halasana / Salamba Sarvangasana, hips on blankets, shoulders on floor to rest.

— Student on menstrual period (plus one other) in Supta Baddha Konasana (Supta = supine, Baddha = bound, Kona = angle); student with unstable neck in bench Sirsasana (Sirsa = head).